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Army officer honored for volunteer work

Lt. Col. William Sanders is recognized by the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce for his work with school kids.

By WAVENEY ANN MOORE
Published March 30, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - At the end of his 10- and 11-hour days at MacDill Air Force Base, Army Lt. Col. William Sanders heads across the Gandy to his Coquina Key home. Some days - mostly Wednesdays - he stops first at the Enoch Davis Center to tutor elementary school children in English and math.

Sanders, whose parents moved to St. Petersburg when he was a baby, feels an obligation to volunteer.

"I feel so incredibly blessed for the people that were a part of my childhood. They took time out of their busy schedules," said Sanders, 40.

"It's my turn to give back. I love doing it and it is so rewarding to help a child with a math problem."

Last week he was among 21 people honored by the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce at its military appreciation banquet. The event honors service men and women in the five branches of the military in Tampa Bay and recruiters and seniors in the ROTC programs at high schools and colleges. Sanders was given the Army Military Citizen of the Year award.

Bob Cutler, a World War II veteran and volunteer manager of military affairs for the chamber, said the idea for the banquet was born eight years ago.

"It just happened at the time that the retired head of General Motors, who had been a founder of the National Guard Association, lived in St. Petersburg and General Motors was looking for a way to honor him," Cutler said.

General Motors and the chamber teamed up to put on the first event.

Over the years, keynote speakers have included U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young and retired Gen. Tommy Franks, former commander of the U.S. Central Command. This year's keynote speaker was Vice Adm. Eric Olson, deputy commander of U.S. Special Operations Command and senior Navy SEAL. Olson and chamber chairman Sam Ellison presented the awards.

Sanders was honored for his volunteer work and career accomplishments. He has been in the military 19 years and is chief of the field assistance division for the U.S. Special Operations Command. He is a West Point graduate and has a master of science degree in administration from Central Michigan University and a master's in business administration from the University of Maryland.

The Lakewood High School graduate credits good parenting for his achievements.

"My parents kept us focused on academics," said Sanders, who has one sister, Ondria Sanders-McDonald.

His father, Herbert Sanders, retired from the Air Force at MacDill and is a program coordinator at the Enoch Davis Center. His grandfather also served in the military. He was a veteran of World War II and Korea. His mother, Phyllis Sanders, died two years ago.

Sanders, the father of two girls, Alexis, 8, and Kassandra, 6, said he enjoyed growing up in St. Petersburg. He said he couldn't wait to return after serving in various parts of the country and overseas in Korea, Hungary and Turkey. He also was deployed twice to Iraq. Before MacDill, he was stationed at the Pentagon. His workdays are long, he said.

"The general schedule for us is between 10- and 11-hour days. That's pretty much the norm since 9/11," he said.

But there's still time to volunteer.

"I go in early, so that leaving at 5 is not a bad thing. The primary day is Wednesday at the Enoch Davis Center, so I'm generally there at 6 or 6:30. What you tend to see is a wide variety of kids with different academic skills. And you have that really because there are different grades represented. With one kid, you might be working multiplication tables. With another kid, you might be working algebra and another kid, you might be working calculus," Sanders said.

Counseling African-American boys and young men is important to him, he said.

"Being from the local community, I think it really makes a difference if they are able to understand that you were raised right around the corner and that you share many of the same experiences. It really makes a difference when you can say, "I went to Maximo Elementary,' or "I went to Baypoint Middle,' " he said.

Recent racial disturbances and BayWalk fights have concerned him, Sanders said.

"But I think the way we resolve those types of issues is by doing something about it and giving back to that community, by mentoring and tutoring and trying to be role models," he said.

Besides tutoring at the Enoch Davis Center, Sanders volunteers with the Boys and Girls Clubs. He is a member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity and provides college and career counseling to African-American males through a program it has organized with a local sorority.

Recently he participated in a career day at St. Petersburg College and spoke about careers in engineering and opportunities in the military through ROTC and the service academies. Sanders also speaks to veterans groups and is active in First Baptist Institutional Church.

[Last modified March 30, 2005, 01:03:17]